This invention relates to the field of hand knitting machines and more particularly to an improved carriage and cam control system for a knitting machine of this character capable of producing both Punch Lace and Fair Isle knitted patterns.
It is conventional to utilize with the needle bed of a hand knitting machine a carriage which mounts a plurality of cams on its underface so that when it is reciprocated along the slide rails of the bed the cam system operates upon the butts of the needles to effectuate the desired knitting pattern. As is well known, the carriage may be manually operable or it may be adapted for reciprocation under the influence of a motor drive.
Carriages presently in use are capable of producing various patterns of knitting. In order to provide such a capability the several cams are adjustable either through direct individual manipulation or indirectly through the actuation of a punch key and connecting lever. In the latter instances the customary construction links individual punch keys and levers with individual cams. Alternately, a selector dial may be rotated to a predetermined position in order to establish a specific cam raceway for production of a particular knitted pattern. Known carriages of this type generally employ escapement cams which are permanently biased and are, therefore, susceptible to spring failure. Also, such carriages are generally heavy and occupy a relatively large area of the needle bed, thereby increasing the possibility of needle jam-up beneath the carriage.
Further, it has been found desirable to provide a carriage with a capability for producing Punch Lace and Fair Isle knitting patterns. The Singer Model 2200 knitting machine permits the production of the latter pattern but does not enable the operator to produce Punch Lace (a simulated lace pattern), wherein a design of a chosen colored yarn is produced by means of knit stitches on needles selected to form the design. A fine yarn or thread is knit on every needle, thus forming a stocking stitch structure. If some (non-selected) needles form knit stitches with both colored yarn and fine thread, and the remainder of the needles form knit stitches using only the fine thread, a fabric is produced where the fine thread is nearly invisible and the design appearance is formed in colored yarn.